The E-M10II with kit lens sells for $499 only at Newegg (Click here)!. This is a flash sales that runs today only. The price is $100 lower than the best price in all other US stores!
Reminder: New Panasonic-Leica 12mm f/1.4 preorders at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama.
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Thanks to the anonymous source who sent me this!
Back in April I reported about the new 12mm Leica lens (rumor article here). And now that it has been officially announced let’s check out if the lens is as good as advertised by Panasonic.
CameraLabs compared the lens with the Olympus 12mm f/2.0 and 7-14mm f/2.8 lenses:
The Leica Summilux 12mm f1.4 kicks-off the comparison in isolation as the only lens in the group to open to f1.4. There’s visible vignetting darkening the image, but look beyond this and you’ll see an image that’s still impressive crisp and detailed. Close it to f2 and the vignetting essentially goes away, while the Olympus 12mm f2 joins the battle. The Olympus crop wide-open at f2 suffers from vignetting, but you’ll also see that it’s softer than the Leica Summilux – indeed it’s lacking the crispness and details of the Leica when the Leica is at its maximum aperture of f1.4.
ePhotozine tested the lens on the GX80 and writes:
Regardless of the technical results, this is a lens that produces images that look fantastic. Some might argue that’s actually what a lens is for and we need look no further than that. When we do examine the detail, the overall standard of sharpness is very good indeed, but becomes outstanding at the centre over most of the aperture range. This high standard shows up the effects of diffraction with the fairly soft results at f/16 and it is probably a wise decision not to include the option of f/22.
No lens is perfect, but we have here a very exciting prospect for MFT format users with a lens that provides a unique bright f/1.4 aperture and excels at producing superb images. Lovely.
Photographyblog writes:
The Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH is an outstanding ultra-wide-angle prime lens. It’s exceptionally well-built, weather-proof and delivers fantastic image quality at both the centre and edges of the frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/1.4, and the very welcome aperture ring makes it quick, easy and precise to set this key element of exposure.
Preorders:
12mm f/1.4 at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama. Panasonic US. WexUK. ParkCameras.
My Favorite Micro Four Thirds Camera Backpack, Lowepro Protactic 250 AW
2016 Roundup: $1200-2000 Crop-Sensor Interchangeable Lens Cameras (Dpreview).
Compared 2 popular macro lenses on the Oly 45/1.8. Raynox DCR-250 and Marumi DHG200 +5 (BigStreetGuns).
2016 Roundup: $1200-2000 part 2: Full-Frame Interchangeable Lens Cameras (Dpreview).
My Reasons to Switch to Capture One (Alexander Svet).
Scott: “Unplugged & Uncovered – A simple music video on a micro budget. Shot on the EM5 MarkII (Flat Picture Profile) + 12-40 f2.8 |25 f1.4 | 45 f1.8 + Rode VideoMicro. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YXVqZrpY6E“
Precision Camera posted that Panasonic-Leica 12mm f/1.4 introduction video. Also note that if you live in UK you can have a hands-on with the lens at the Burgess Hill store this weekend.
Preorders:
12mm f/1.4 at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama. Panasonic US. WexUK. ParkCameras.
Preorders:
12mm f/1.4 at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama.
Reviews and hands-on:
Full review at CameraLabs. Review at ePhotozine. Review at Photographyblog. Hands-on at Dpreview. Image samples at Cameras.Reviewed. SystemKameraBlog (German). Photoscala (German). DSLRmagazine (Spanish). Hands-on by Quesabesde (Spanish).
Press text:
Here on 43rumors.
Key specs and info:
Images:
Preorders:
12mm f/1.4 at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama.
The H-X012 Micro Four Thirds Professional Wide Angle Mirrorless Lens
NEWARK, NJ (July 1, 2016) – Panasonic unveiled a new LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. (35 mm camera equivalent: 24 mm) digital interchangeable lens for Digital Single Lens Mirrorless camera based on the Micro Four Thirds standard. The new 12mm wide-angle lens enables photographers to capture beautiful group, event, and nature photography. It also allows indoor shooting in low lighting and produces an impressive, natural defocusing effect with its F1.4 aperture. In addition, the LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. boasts a rugged, splash/dust-proof design (when combined with splash and dustproof LUMIX G Mirrorless camera models) to meet the needs of a wide-range of photographic situations.
Integrating two aspherical lenses, two UED (Ultra Extra-Low Dispersion) lenses and an ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) lens, the lens system is comprised of 15 elements in 12 groups. The adoption of five special lenses makes it possible to meet the stringent LEICA standard for exceptional image quality with high resolution and minimum distortion. In general, flare is commonly seen around the periphery of a point source with many high-speed lenses when a large aperture is employed. However, the new LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. achieves high resolution from the center of the image to the corners by suppressing this flare. Users can take advantage of this lens to shoot a brilliant night skies or night scenes containing illumination to capture true-to-life images with minimal blurring and distortion at the edges. The multi-coated lens elements also minimize ghosting and flaring.
Incorporating an inner focus drive system and a stepping motor, the new LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. is capable of smooth, silent operation together with the camera’s high-speed, high-precision contrast AF system for both photo and video recording. It is also compatible with the sensor drive at a maximum of 240 fps to take full advantage of cameras with high-speed AF. This stunning AF performance is excellent for recording 4K videos, where precise focusing is essential.
The LEICA DG SUMMILUX 12mm/F1.4 ASPH. comes with an aperture ring for direct, intuitive aperture control. Nine blades give the aperture a rounded shape that produces an attractively smooth effect in out-of-focus areas when shooting at larger aperture settings. A highly reliable metal mount assures durability for repeated use. The lens mount, the barrel and the hood are all made of metal to provide a sleek, sophisticated design that matches the entire line-up of LUMIX G Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) cameras.
Dpreview posted the full GX80/85 review. The camera earned the Silver Award with a 82% overall score:
“So what do you get if you buy a Panasonic GX85? You get a 4K capable camera that can be used handheld thanks to great image stabilization. You also get an impressive stills camera with good image quality which can shoot fast action with relative ease thanks to its very good autofocus system and burst rate of 6 fps with AF-C. You get a logically designed body with enough custom buttons to satisfy most, a tilting LCD with an excellent touch interface and easy-to-use Wi-Fi connectivity.
What you don’t get is weather-sealing, microphone or headphone jacks, an external battery charger or the latest generation 20MP Four Thirds sensor. But most casual shooters can probably live without those things.”
Store links:
Black GX80/85 at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama. WexUK. ParkUK.
Silver GX80/85 at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama. ParkUK.
